People like to commemorate important events in people's lives, such as weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays, and show their appreciation and affection for others by sending gifts and social expression cards, such as greeting cards. Most greeting cards sent today are mass produced cards purchased in retail establishments such as card shops, gift shops, grocery stores and the like. Gifts, of course, may be purchased at any of a number of retail establishments.
It is not always easy to find a mass produced card that expresses the right sentiment. Additionally, there is a desire on the part of most people to personalize their gifts and greeting cards. Most people write a personal greeting in the mass produced cards that they send to others. Recently, there have been introduced card vending machines or kiosks that enable purchasers to create personalized printed social expression cards. Also, there are software packages that enable people to produce cards using personal computers.
In the area of gifts, most people prefer to give a gift that they believe will be meaningful to and appreciated by the recipient. However, a giver may know only generally the wants and needs of a particular recipient. For example, the giver may know that an intended recipient likes music or a particular style of clothing. However, the giver may not know which musical group the recipient likes or whether the recipient would prefer one article of clothing over another. In such instances, the gift certificate from a store that carries goods of the type appreciated by the recipient might be an appropriate gift.
Gift certificates are now available in the form of prepaid gift cards. Conventional prepaid gift cards are debit cards having a magnetic stripe that encodes a monetary credit amount that can be read by appropriate card reader. Such prepaid gift cards are typically similar in size and shape to standard credit cards and may be used, for example, as a gift certificate or a prepaid merchandise credit toward a purchase at a retail establishment, which is typically identified on the gift card.
People giving a prepaid gift card often find it desirable to accompany the prepaid gift card with a traditional greeting card to make the gift a personal touch. The traditional greeting card provides the giver an opportunity to author a personalized sentiment or the like. Because traditional greeting cards are not adapted to hold a prepaid gift card, the greeting card and prepaid gift card are often presented separately.